Britain has agreed a deal with the EU on the issue of the Northern Ireland border that would effectively keep the province in the single market and customs union, EU chiefs have told members of the European Parliament.
The Independent understands that a joint text on Northern Ireland drawn up by UK and EU officials was read out at a meeting between the Parliament’s Brexit taskforce with Michel Barnier and Jean-Claude Juncker today.
MEPs were told that Theresa May, who is visiting Brussels later today to have meetings with Mr Juncker and Donald Tusk, the European Council president, was onboard with the agreement.
Following the meeting, Belgian MEP Philippe Lamberts, a member of the Brexit taskforce who was in the room, also told Sky News that the UK Government had agreed to a “special situation for Northern Ireland”.
“I think the discussions that we’ve seen in the last few months have allowed the British government to realise the implications of the Good Friday agreement,” he said.
“Basically, the British government would commit to maintain the full alignment of single market and customs union legislation that might potentially create a border.”
Asked whether there would be a wider deal on sufficient progress today, Mr Lamberts said: “I would put my money on it. Pending the goodwill of the Prime Ministers of Ireland and the United Kingdom we can get a deal today.”
A leak of a draft text obtained by Irish public broadcaster RTE pledged to ensure there would be “continued regulatory alignment” on the island of Ireland.
“In the absence of agreed solutions the UK will ensure that there continues to be no divergence from those rules of the internal market and the customs union which, now or in the future, support North South cooperation and the protection of the Good Friday Agreement,” the original draft said.
One difficulty for Theresa May is that the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) – who she relies on for a majority in the House of Commons, has said that it would veto any bid to move Northern Ireland closer to the Republic.
There are also outstanding issues on the issue of citizens’ rights, such as the cost and complexity of the application process for EU citizens wanting to stay in the UK to gain “settled status”.
The UK is understood to be proposing the creation of an ombudsman to oversee the implementation of the withdrawal agreement with regards to citizens' rights. This body could then refer cases to UK courts, with judges then being able to voluntarily refer cases on in turn to the European Court of Justice.
